South Portland residents applaud passage of the Clear Skies Ordinance on Monday.

Susan Sharon
/ Maine Public Broadcasting Network

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Originally published on July 23, 2014 10:06 am

South Portland, Maine, is known as the place where Liberty ships were built by tens of thousands of workers during World War II. Now, the city's waterfront is home to an oil terminal and the beginning of a 236-mile-long pipeline.

For more than 70 years, the Portland Montreal Pipeline Corp. has pumped crude oil up through the pipeline, across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, to be refined in Montreal.

Now, Canada is in the midst of an oil boom and the company has expressed interest in using the pipeline to carry Canadian crude, including tar sands oil, in the opposite direction — from Montreal to Maine — for delivery to the world market.

But the city, citing environmental concerns, has passed an ordinance blocking tar sands oil and other raw crude from being loaded onto tanker ships at the city port.

"People are concerned [about] what happens if we have a large amount of tankers that are being loaded with crude oil," says South Portland Mayor Jerry Jalbert.

Residents are concerned about air pollution, the possibility of a spill and the difficulty of cleaning up a heavier, more toxic form of crude oil, he says. It's that confluence of concerns that moved the council to ban tar sands.

While current business won't change, the oil industry still doesn't like the ordinance. Matt Manahan, an attorney for the Portland Montreal Pipe Line Corp., warned council members before their final vote Monday that he doesn't think the ordinance would hold up in court.

"This ordinance, if passed, would clearly be pre-empted by federal and state law," Manahan said before the vote. "There can be no doubt about that, and it's a mistake to move forward with an illegal ordinance."

Pipeline company officials say they are evaluating their legal options. They say the ordinance restricts their ability to adapt to a changing market and to meet the energy needs of the region.

At least one oil industry analyst is skeptical of that claim. "I don't think this is going to make a big difference in terms of northeastern crude oil supply," says Tom Kloza, an oil analyst at GasBuddy.com.

Kloza says even without the pipeline, Canadian crude is still coming. "One thing we've learned in the last couple of years is you can move oil by rail very, very quickly," he says. "The crude's going to come from the oil sands to the United States and other points."

That hasn't discouraged Dylan Voorhees, the Clean Energy and Global Warming Project director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. He says what has happened in South Portland is galvanizing activists around the country and motivating them to raise awareness about the threat of tar sands.

"And they are getting a boost," Voorhees says. "A shot in the arm to see citizens in South Portland successful in a persistent effort against all odds and against oil to get their community protected."

If the ordinance is too restrictive, Mayor Jalbert says the council can always make revisions. But in the event of a lawsuit, he says South Portland plans to defend the ordinance and mount a national online campaign to get environmental groups and other supporters to pay for it.

And Minister Sikorski spoke to us from Brussels where European Union foreign ministers are meeting. >>CORNISH: A city in Maine is blocking the transfer of Canadian tar sands oil and other crude onto ocean tankers. Environmentalists are celebrating the move by the South Portland City Council. The ordinance could complicate future plans for a pipeline that runs across northern New England. But as Susan Sharon of Maine Public Radio reports, Canadian crude has other routes into the region.

SUSAN SHARON, BYLINE: Known as the place where Liberty ships were built by tens of thousands of workers during World War II, South Portland's waterfront is home to an oil terminal and the beginning of a 236-mile-long pipeline.

JERRY JALBERT: Right now we're looking at Portland Harbor and we're looking at a tanker that's coming in right now.

SHARON: Jerry Jalbert is South Portland's mayor. For more than 70 years, he says, the Portland Montreal Pipeline Corporation has pumped crude up through the pipeline that crosses Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, to be refined in Montreal. Canada itself is now in the midst of an oil boom. And the company has expressed interest in using its pipeline to carry Canadian crude in the opposite direction, from Montreal to Maine for delivery to the world market.

JALBERT: And people are concerned. What happens if we have a large amount of tankers that are being loaded with crude oil?

SHARON: That's because the industrial waterfront is changing. The old shipyard has been replaced by a city park with scenic views of the harbor. High-priced condos are a stone's throw away. And Jalbert says residents' concerns about air pollution, the possibility of a spill and the difficulty of cleaning up a heavier, more toxic form of crud moved the council to ban tar sands.

JALBERT: The Clear Skies Ordinance prohibits the bulk loading of crude oil onto marine tank vessels. It does not affect any current operations.

SHARON: Current business isn't affected, but the oil industry doesn't like it. Matt Manahan, an attorney for the Portland Montreal Pipe Line Corporation, warned council members before their final vote that he doesn't think it will hold up in court.

MATT MANAHAN: This ordinance, if passed, would clearly be pre-empted by federal and state law. There can be no doubt about that and it's a mistake to move forward with an illegal ordinance.

SHARON: Pipeline company officials say they are now evaluating their legal options. They say the ordinance restricts their ability to adapt to a changing market and to meet the energy needs of the region. At least one oil industry analyst is skeptical.

TOM KLOZA: I don't think this is going to make a big difference in terms of northeastern crude oil supply.

SHARON: Tom Kloza is with gasbuddy.com. He says even without the pipeline, Canadian crude is still coming.

KLOZA: One thing we've learned in the last couple of years is that you can move crude oil by rail very very quickly. I mean, the crude's going to come from the oil sands to the United States and to other points.

SHARON: That may be true. But Dylan Voorhees of the Natural Resources Council of Maine says what happened in South Portland is galvanizing activists around the country, who are raising awareness about the threat of tar sands.

DYLAN VOORHEES: And they are getting a boost, a shot in the arm, to see citizens in South Portland successful in a persistent effort against all odds and against oil to get their community protected.

SHARON: If there are problems with the ordinance - if it is too restrictive, Mayor Jalbert says the council can always make revisions. But in the event of a lawsuit, Jalbert says South Porland will defend the ordinance and mount a national online campaign to get environmental groups and other supporters to pay for it.

SIEGEL: This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.